Hey Mamas!!
I could desperately use the advice from anyone that has gone through this... My six month old son recently started gagging and refusing his bottle (Avent). I have no idea what has caused this. He has reflux, but it's had it for five months before this and he was fine. He's on a perscription to manage it and help heal his esophagus. But now he has started gagging when he begins to suck on the bottle. He will gag a few times and then he gets really frustrated and arches his back. He'll refuse to take the bottle at all. I know that he's hungry because this even happens after he's been sleeping twelve hours at night! Do you all have any suggestions about what could be happening with my little guy?? He is in the 10th percentile for weight, so I'm always worried about him eating. Any ideas or advice would be GREATLY appreciated. :o) I love Mamasource.
Thank you to everyone!!! I had been using the Avent Variable Flow nipples. (For those of you that aren't sure what those are... They have three different speeds of flow right on the same nipple. You control the flow by which notch is under the baby's nose.) We had to use those because his doctor said to thicken his milk with cereal and those were the only ones that would allow the cereal through. Well, from your advice, I have figured out that if I start him on the slowest notch and then rotate the nipple to a faster flow while he's still sucking, he doesn't gag but he can still get the cereal out. He seems to be gagging less now. It may be a slow process getting things back to normal because I was bad about really pressuring him to eat and he would get so frustrated. Like one great mama said, he started having bad feelings about eating. I'm sure he could sense my frustration. He's doing better though. Thanks again. :o) I really appreciate the advice and encouragement.
Believe it or not chiropractic is great for babies with this situation. Its simple, painless, safe, and some Dr.'s adjust infants for free.
It may be that the nipple is the problem, If he has to suck hard it may gag him or that the flow is just to fast. My youngest used to gag when I changed her nipple to fast flow. She still uses the slow flow nipples and she is almost weaned from the bottle. But my oldest used to gag when she had to suck really hard to get what she wanted. So if you are using a slow flow nipple try using the fast or med. flow nipples. On the other hand if you have switched to fast flow try going back to slow. If it is still a problem after you try that I would suggest talking to his doctor. I know alot of mother don't ask doctors when they should because they don't want to seems dumb. But doctor have heard it all and are very helpful, trust me when it comes to your kids there is no such thing as a dumb question. Don't be afraid to sound stupid. I use to but have learned the smallest thing could be a link to something bigger. I hope this helps.
I agree with everyone, it is most likely the nipple. I would also check with the doctor to make sure that his reflux has not gotten worse. My daughter had felux and after a while they had to change to a more effective medicine. Good luck! I know how you feel. It is not fun. -A.
My son also has reflux and was in the 5th percentile at six months. He is breast-fed. Then he started getting worse- lots of spit up, cranky and lost weight- it took us a month to figure out that he has an intolerance to dairy. I have been doing some research and he may have what's called secondary lactose intolerance- basically they develop this sensitivity because of the damage in their tummy from the reflux. So we took him and me off all dairy- and it is making a huge difference. I don't know if this is what your little guy has but its worth checking out and easy to get him off dairy since he's on formula. My son is almost eight months old now and only 15 pounds-- so I totally understand the worry about food.
Let me know what happens please
Just throwing this out there, it couldn't be that his nose is stuffed up could it? I know you probably would've noticed but my son's having a hard time eating right now because he's stuffed up so I thought I'd mention it.
Try giving your little guy soy milk or rice milk. It may be lactose inlorant thing. I have a nephew that went through the same thing. And after all of the not knowing Mommy put him on the soy or rice milk and that really seemed to help him. Talk to your dr about this thought as well maybe they too can check this out and suggest other things that can be done.
Hope this helps.
Yes, it could be the nipple, but if changing nipples does 't work, take him to the doctor.
To add to the "nipple hole" advice....
My son had "silent reflux" (only at night). He didn't spit up -- the reflux went up his nasal passage, making him choke and wheeze.
But separate to this issue -- when I got my son started on a bottle at 6 weeks, he almost drowned because he was used sucking much harder on my nipple. The Level 1 nipple holes were much too big, so I got him Preemie nipples. I used Dr. Brown's Level "P" nipples, but I think Avent carries a preemie version as well. The only place I could find Preemie nipples (not online) was Babies 'R' Us.
My son is now eight months old, and outgrew his reflux at about 5 months. He now nurses and also drinks from Level 2 nipples like a big boy.
Best of luck to you! Reflux, in any form, is scary, but many kids outgrow it sooner rather than later.
check the bottle nipple. its possible it got punctured (possibly while being washed) and its flowing too fast for him to swallow. both of my kids got both breastmilk and formula, and the only time they gagged was when either A- nipple was broke in some way that i didnt notice, or B- id missed a nursing and my breastmilk was flowing faster than they can handle.
This needs to be adressed to his Dr. The gag reflex is normal when introducing solids but not the bottle. Maybe try and different brand of bottle as the nipple may be too big for him.
It could depend on which nipple you're using. The flow may be more than he can take. I used the Avent bottles with both my girls. I had this kind of trouble with #1 and it was that there was a split at one of the holes so she was getting more formula than she could handle. I'd start by checking the nipple. If it's ok - you may want to go back one size. If you've just changed nipples to another size, you may want to switch back and forth until he gets used to the new flow. If it's still happening then you may want to talk to the doc. I'm not sure it has anything to do with the reflux - but, better safe than sorry!
Good luck!
The nipple may be too long and/or his gag reflex may not be too far back. Have you recently changed nipples?
Hi-
It could be that the nipple is too fast flowing for him to manage. If you try the size down and he still does it, I recommend that you take your little guy in to see a pediatric GI specialist so you can hopefully figure it out before he associates all eating experiences with pain. It can quickly become a psychological issue because they associate eating with such pain and discomfort that they want to avoid this at all costs. Also, you may want to have a swallow study done and ask if it will help to thicken his liquids. Good luck!
